Why controversial streamer Sneako from Louis Theroux doc was banned from social media platforms
Louis Theroux's latest documentary sees him step into the 'manosphere', speaking with some of the world's most controversial content creators.
The legendary journalist, who has an impressive habit of securing interviews with some of the world's worst people, explored the rapid increase in toxic masculinity among men and boys in his latest documentary for Netflix.
He visited the likes of Harrison Sullivan (HSTikkyTokky), Ed Matthews and Justin Waller during his research, studying how and why they came to share such racist, homophobic and misogynistic views online.
Naturally, there has been some backlash to his documentary from the creators themselves, many of whom including Sullivan and Myron Gaines were made to look pretty stupid when faced with intelligent questioning which undermined the misinformation they preach to their audiences.
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One of the final men that Theroux visits in the documentary is Sneako, an American videographer, political commentator, and social media personality whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy.
During the documentary, Sneako admits that he is part of the 'manosphere' but Theroux is more interested in the 27-year-old's wild conspiracy theories, which include suggestions that the world is 'run by Satanists'.
And it's his misinformation and extreme views that were perhaps two of the biggest reasons why he found himself banned from the vast majority of social media sites, including Instagram, TikTok, Kick and YouTube.
He was first banned by YouTube in 2022 for 'spreading misinformation' and while he had it temporarily restored in October 2024, he found himself banned just hours later.
As the end of the documentary states (spoilers), he was reinstated on the video sharing site once again in October 2025, and instantly regained millions of followers.
During filming, he'd only been able to share short videos on X, but old clips of his were still regularly surfacing on the likes of Instagram and TikTok, which saw him become incredibly popular among the younger generation.
Twitch also banned the creator for his 'extreme hateful conduct', with Theroux also quizzing him about his, and others in the manosphere's, anti-semitic views.
Kick soon followed suit after allegations of more anti-semitic content on another live-streaming site known as Rumble.
Although he remains incredibly popular online, particularly after his YouTube account was reinstated, many have called for his permanent ban due to his controversial views and vocal support for Andrew Tate.
Meanwhile, domestic abuse charity Refuge has spoken to the BBC, following the release of the eye-opening documentary, suggesting that the manosphere was 'directly connected' to real-word violence against women, and some parts of the space online actively encouraged it.
"The misogynistic and anti-feminist views promoted in the manosphere influence how some men behave in real-world relationships."
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere is available to watch on Netflix now.
Topics: Louis Theroux, Netflix, Social Media
James Moorhouse